A wild tusker was seen in Dorasamudra, a historical tank close to Hoysaleshwara temple, in Halebid on Monday. Morning walkers noticed the animal.
Soon, many had gathered on the bank. The residents took pictures and videos of the animal and within hours these went viral in the district. Forest Department officials rushed to the place as soon as they were informed about the elephant in the tank. The police also surrounded the tank to avoid any man-elephant conflict.
The officers felt it would be difficult to drive the animal back to the forest in the day time as it would be difficult to handle the crowd in the busy tourist place. They ensured that it remained in the water till evening.
Sivaram Babu, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu that animal would be driven away to the nearest forest area in the evening. “We have staff at the spot and policemen are also with us. We will ensure the animal returns to the forest area safe without harming anybody”, he said.
The operation to drive the animal was going on till late in the evening.
A wild elephant had reached Hunasinakere, a tank in Hassan town, in July 2019.
